© 2018 Dr Margaret Sheppard

 Childhood

Babies are not usually completely weaned until they are 2-4 years old, although they will probably start to be given thin porridge and small tender pieces of meat when they reach about 6 months. Traditionally it is judged whether or not a baby is increasing in weight by tying cords, strings or even strings of beads around the ankles, wrists and waist. These are said to be doctored to protect the baby against sorcery, and to help the baby to grow well.

Babies receive a great deal of maternal attention. They are fed on demand, are never left to cry but always picked up to be comforted, they sleep with their mothers at night. They are always with their mothers, nestled in a blanket on her back when she is on errands, visiting or travelling. The mothers take a tremendous pride in their babies, they are often immaculately dressed in baby sets (complete with hat, bootees or shoes, and mittens), or many mothers still dress them in the beautiful traditional bead disega (for boys) or dimakgabe (for girls) which are often underneath their Western style baby clothes. It should also be mentioned that when a mother is eating herself, she will never hold her baby as well, this is a taboo.

As they grow older and learn to walk and talk, children begin to play with, and they are increasingly minded by, older children. These "nannies" spoil them greatly, but at the same time they begin to learn from the example of the older children, their future role in life. It is not uncommon to see young (2 or 3 year old) children with small tins "helping" the older ones to fetch water at the village water taps.

As they grow older, small boys start to spend- more and more time with older boys learning from them how to herd goats and other livestock, and the girls spend more and more time with the older girls, learning how to fetch water, cook, clean the house and sweep the lolwapa (to name just a few of women's many tasks!!) Even quite small children will start to learn the taboos, again by example. For example one fight broke out between two of my little friends when they were playing with ox vertebrae pretending that they were their ox wagons. They made themselves a little kraal from mud on the ground and then the little boy refused to allow the little girl to "enter" the kraal, telling her that ladies are not allowed inside the kraal, only men, (this is an adult custom). Again small boys in a quarrel will quite often tell girls they are not supposed to insult "men". They are obviously copying from their elders.

During the agricultural season the children go to the Lands. If their mothers are in employment they will stay there with grandmothers and learn the work of the Lands. Boys, as they grow older will go to the Cattle posts and learn herding etc., with the older boys who stay there.

Grandmothers are often the  chief child carers of pre-school children if the mother is working

Feeding the toddler

“Helping” the grandmother at the Lands -manual weeding.

Helping the grandfather with weeding at the Lands

“Ox wagon” made of vertebrae -”men’s work”

Young girls washing dishes -”women’s work”

Grandchildren at the Lands preparing mealie cobs

Grandmothers and mothers taking it in turns to care for young children whilst mother winnowing sorghum at lands on threshing floor.

Learning the work of the Cattlepost

Learning work of the Lands

Herding and kraaling the goats

Small boys observing the cattle kraal

Young herdsman letting out the cattle in the morning to drink and graze

Learning how to check the health of cattle

“Manly” jokes!

Nowadays an increasing number of children go to school. It is usual for children to start at school in the first Standard when they are between 6 and 8 years old. There~are seven Standards of primary education and, although a certain number drop out this is probably not due to lack of school fees. In 1980 school fees for primary schools were abolished, but before then they had only been P3 per annum. Probably more common reasons for drop-outs and even failure to enter Standard I, are factors such as child labour needed at the Lands and Cattle post, general suspicion of schools among conservative parents, distance from schools (e.g. if the family stay at their Lands or Cattle posts and do not come to Kanye parents are unwilling for their children to walk over long distances to the few schools in these areas), also pregnancy, fear of being beaten by teachers (bad beating of children still seems to continue in some primary schools, and several of my young informants, especially teenagers, told me that this was why they had dropped out of school - they had run away!)

At the end of Standard 7 there is a national examination which also functions as an entrance exam to the secondary schools and other forms of post primary training available, and for employment. Although this Standard 7 exam is supposed to be a test of ability families believe in doctoring their children to bring about success. If a child is lazy, disobedient or uncooperative at school this is frequently attributed to sorcery. That is the child is believed to have been bewitched by other people who are jealous. It should perhaps be noted that an educated child can be a great economic asset to a family as it is the custom for a child to work for its parents, to whom the earnings belong. Wages in Botswana are structured very heavily according to educational level attained and experience. Therefore children who are successful in the school system can easily attract the jealousy of neighbours and relatives and traditional parents would therefore protect their children from this.

Sickness in a child can be a result of, or symptom that the family is bewitched. (See section on Sorcery for more details) but some mention should be made of tlhowana and kokwane. These are fairly common childhood diseases. The word tlhowana means fontanelles. If the fontanelles of a baby do not join together properly and become sunken, this is believed to show that the baby is suffering from the disease called tlhowana, which can only be cured by specialists such as traditional doctors or certain female specialists. Western hospitals and Zionists are not believed to be able to cure this disease. If it remains uncured and the child survives to adulthood, the adult will suffer from eye trouble, poor sight, squints and headaches associated with the eyes. Uncured tlhowana can also lead to mental problems and even death.

Apart from the annual family doctoring as described by Schapera, and the doctoring to attain success at school, or healing from tlhowana and other diseases, children, especially young ones, are kept away from people with "hot blood", especially those who have been in close contact with death and have not yet been "washed".

It should be noted that as a child grows up it  learns, by example and the teaching of the Tswana traditions, history, customs, rituals etc. It can be assumed that some of the traditions, especially traditional crafts that tended to be learnt over a lifetime of experience, are waning in modern times as children are separated from the traditional teachers (their parents, relatives, elders) in schools, to which an increasing number of children are obviously going. However even with secondary school children much of the traditional way of life is retained.

During the holidays, and often also at week-ends, many children go to the family Lands and Cattle posts. If they are day students, they are returning daily to their homes and dikgotla where they will be expected to follow traditions and observe the traditional taboos. During a thunder storm school children may be very unwilling to keep their books open, as white and books are both believed to attract lightning.

However one custom that has certainly fallen into abeyance among the Bangwaketse, is that of initiation.

I

Helping to fetch wood